Woman Wept Once More
by aurorstorm
Summary: The Doctor takes River to a planet he has visited before with a lost friend, and is unable to escape the memories it brings to the surface.


River leaned back against the TARDIS console, smiling as The Doctor gleefully bounced his way around the room.

"Wow, have I got something to show _you_ today!" He looked over at her and grinned, absentmindedly flicking a control that sent the TARDIS lurching. River reached over and casually pulled a lever, returning the ship to normal flight. "I was just testing you," he mumbled, while adjusting his fez.

"I'm sure you were, sweetheart. Oh, and don't think I'm letting you wear _that_ outside," she laughed.

"Oh yeah? Try and stop me!" the Doctor challenged, prompting River to grab him by the bowtie around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. He backed away, stunned, but not fast enough to stop her grabbing the fez off his head. "Give it back! River, that wasn't fair!" he pleaded, but she skipped over to the TARDIS doors and tossed the little red hat out into the vortex.

_In a galaxy a couple of light-years away from the TARDIS's destination, there was a rather small but highly fashionable planet. One day, a small red box-like hat fell from the sky and landed on the head of a famous model. By the next morning, every single citizen of that galaxy had donned this peculiar form of headgear._

The Doctor stopped the flight of the TARDIS.

"Doctor, we haven't landed!" warned River.

"I know. I want you to see this from above," said the Doctor, gesturing to the doors of the ship.

River glanced at him with a look of confusion before walking towards the doors and opening them carefully. Her eyes widened and for a few seconds, she lost the ability to breathe.

She was looking down upon what seemed to be a suspended moment in time. An entire ocean, thousands of miles long, was frozen. Waves one hundred feet tall had been turned to ice in a split second. Every spray, every curve of the swell, and every falling droplet had been preserved. The sun was beginning to set, and the ocean glittered a million colours before her eyes.

"Oh, my god..." she gasped. "Doctor... wha... how?" She couldn't tear herself away from the view. He sauntered up behind her, quite clearly pleased with himself.

"Oh, who knows, something to do with the sun... The question is, do you fancy a stroll?" River spun around to face him and smiled.

"Darling, I could kiss you right now." The Doctor cringed.

"Oh, please, not again" he cried as he dashed towards the console, but he looked back and threw her a wink.

He carefully guided the TARDIS down onto the ice. The pair both shivered as they stepped out of the ship.

"You see why I wanted my fez? My brain is going to freeze out here!" he grumbled.

"Oh, do be quiet. Besides, I don't believe any cold could get through that thick skull of yours," River quipped. The Doctor pretended to sulk and let his companion wander off ahead.

River took her time as she walked among the waves, spending time examining every intricate detail of the stunning formations. After a while she noticed the unusual silence, and looked around for the Doctor. She glanced back to find he had barely ventured from the TARDIS. He was standing completely still, one hand resting lightly on a slope of ice, gazing up into the sunset. She hurried back towards him.

"Something keeping you?" she asked quietly. He responded a few seconds later than would be normal.

"Ah, no. Nothing. It's just pretty." He smiled quickly and set off in a hurry.

_Well, that was strange,_ River thought. Shrugging it off as another of the Doctor's little moods, she continued on with her previous stroll. She couldn't help being distracted, though, and kept looking back to the Doctor. He didn't seem to be himself, definitely unlike he was during their playful banter onboard the TARDIS. He wasn't taking in any of the sights and was just scuffing around, always gazing at nothing in particular. She called out to him.

"You seem a little bit lost, sweetie!" He stopped walking and looked up blankly.

"What?"

River sighed.

"I said, you look a little bit..." she let her voice fade, as the target of her speech had already looked away. His posture was off, too, as he was slouching slightly. _This isn't just a post-fez tantrum,_ she mused, as she walked over towards her melancholy friend.

"Something's wrong, Doctor. Tell me what it is," River demanded, taking him by the arm and staring into his eyes. He glanced around nervously, avoiding her gaze.

"I'm not sure what you're on about, I don't see anything wrong here-" His eyes focussed on something in the distance. "Oh! You want to know what's wrong? Here's what's wrong, there's a spectacular wave over there, and we're not climbing it!" He pulled away and sprinted off into the distance, skidding behind a wall of ice and out of sight.

River shook her head. "That man, I swear..." she muttered, and set off after him. As she carefully placed her footsteps around that slippery corner, what she saw made her come to a halt. The Doctor was crouched under the crest of smaller wave a few metres ahead, with his head buried into his hands. She had never seen him look so vulnerable before. Struggling to keep the concern out of her usually smug voice, River cooed her trademark "Sweetie," and made her way towards the forlorn figure. He made no movement as she crawled in next to him.

They sat together in silence, River never taking her eyes off the Doctor. She stroked his hair, running her fingers through the soft bronze locks, which were a good deal longer than the last time she met him. Eventually he lifted his eyes to meet hers, and River could not help but gasp. He had not been crying - no, but this was worse. Looking into his eyes, she saw such pain, loss, and grief, the kind of grief that only a being with the lifespan of a Time Lord could hold. In his eyes, she saw an old and lonely soul. It hurt to look, to see her Doctor like this, but she held her gaze firm and waited.

"I've been here before," he whispered, and she knew.

"With Rose," she breathed. The Doctor nodded slowly. He broke away from her eyes and stared out into the frozen waves.

"You really loved her, didn't you?" River asked quietly, after a pause, not expecting an answer. She never got one. Trying again, she moved her hand from his hair to his shoulder, and asked, "If you knew this would be so hard, why did you bring me here?" He turned to face her again, and if his eyes had been windows into his soul before, they had now been slammed shut.

The Doctor grinned brightly at her and exclaimed, "Well, isn't it wonderful!"

He jumped up quickly from their hollow and promptly fell into a heap, laughing on the way down.

"Whoopsies!" he giggled, got to his feet, and held out a hand. "Come along, Song. I wasn't joking about that wave before, you know."

She got to her feet and took his hand. As they walked off into the sunset, River wondered if the man she loved with all her heart would ever let her into his own.

* * *

><p>Please review, it's my first ever fic and I'd love some feedback!<p> 


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